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Situated on a peninsula of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, Cape Breton Highlands National Park combines accessibility with a remote, distant location. It also blends striking coastal scenery with deep, green forests. The park's campgrounds embody all of these features, and whether your style of camping is living out of an RV, pitching a tent next to your car or backpacking into the wilderness, Cape Breton has a camping area for you. Camping is available year-round, with full hookups, where available, accessible only from late May to early October. Area activities include geocaching (modern-day treasure hunt using GPS), fishing, swimming and golf.

Campsites

Cape Breton Highlands National Park offers both front-country and backcountry camping. Two developed front-country camping areas at Cape Breton, Cheticamp and Broad Cove, mix RV and tents-only campsites. The four other front-country campgrounds in the park generally have more primitive facilities and are tents-only. A seventh front-country campground is reserved for group camping. Finally, Cape Breton permits backcountry wilderness camping at Fishing Cove. This area is a hike-in campsite with no facilities.

Locations

Cheticamp and Corney Brook are located in the eastern part of Cape Breton Highlands National Park, with the former based alongside a river and the latter set by the ocean. Fishing Cove, the backcountry camping area, is also in the eastern part of the park. Robert's Brook, the group camping area, is adjacent to Cheticamp. Macintosh Brook and Big Intervale campgrounds are both in the park's northeast and north-central regions, while Ingonish and Broad Cove are both in the southwest.

Reservations

Reservations are only available at Cheticamp and Broad Cove, the two campgrounds with facilities for RVs, and can be made online or by calling the park. Reservations are absolutely required for group camping at Robert's Brook. All other campgrounds operate on a first-come, first-served basis, and check-in is by self-registration.

Camping Rules

A permit is required for backcountry camping in Cape Breton Highlands, which must be issued by a park warden. Fires are permitted only in designated areas, such as those with woodstoves and fireplaces. Backcountry campers at Fishing Cove are not allowed campfires of any kind and must rely on portable camping stoves. Backcountry campers must also pack out all of their trash.

Safety

Big Intervale, Corney Brook and the backcountry camping area at Fishing Cove lack treated drinking water. Campers in these areas must either supply their drinking water entirely from bottles or bring along equipment for treating water in the field, such as camping filters and disinfectants like iodine tablets. Cape Breton Highlands National Park has a substantial population of coyotes, so visitors should exercise certain precautions to avoid an unpleasant incident with these wild animals. Store all food either inside vehicles or in air-tight containers, do not leave children unattended and try not to hike alone in the park. Hikers should also carry walking sticks for self-defense as much as for hiking, and if a coyote is encountered, it should not be approached or fed.